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Fun Facts About Movie Dog Breeds

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rintintinphotoHOLLYWOOD HOUNDS

No doubt dogs make some of the best actors as far as being easy to please.  A good meal, a kind word and maybe a massage is all they need for compensation.  And dogs are always a great crowd pleaser for children and for the child in the adult.  What most people don’t realize is the amount of work that goes into those Hollywood Hounds to make them Shining Stars, but we do.  Here are some great facts about the more popular pouches of past and present according to the AKC.

  • Shortly after Rin Tin Tin was featured in the Warner Brothers film Man From Hell’s River (1922), the German Shepherd Dog was number one from 1925-1928
  • Lassie made her film debut in 1943 and the Collie’s popularity began to rise until ranking third in the nation from 1947-1949. In 2008 the Collie ranked 38th
  • Big Red (1962), a film based on a popular book about an Irish Setter, triggered a rise in popularity of the breed. The Irish Setter rose from 27th in 1960 to 21 in 1965 and peaked at the third spot in 1973. In 2008, the Irish Setter was 69th in the rankings.
  • Today, dogs are routinely featured in films, advertisement and all other forms of entertainment, making it difficult to track resulting trends. The abundance of small dogs on the silver screen such as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Beagle in Underdog, Chihuahua in Legally Blonde and the Brussels Griffon in As Good As It Gets, combined with the bevy of jet-setting celebrities who tote their canine companions with them, appears to have fueled the popularity of the petite pooch.

© 2009 The American Kennel Club, Inc.

Sadly the side affect of hit hounds is the sudden and often devastating influx of those breeds.  Indiscriminate breeding practices by people that are trying to make a killing off their popularity usually ends to the breed’s demise.  So be sure to always work with a reputable breeder that has been committing themselves to their breed for years.  And do your part to tell your friends and acquaintances to avoid the pop up breeds and breeders and to show them the advantages to adopting when possible.